American Kennel Club Invites Two New Breeds to the Litter

The American Kennel Club (AKC) welcomed new breeds into its doghouse on Jan. 1. The organization extended membership to the Portuguese Podengo Pequeno (which is joining the hound group) and the Chinook (becoming part of the working group).

“The AKC is thrilled to add these lively and energetic breeds to the registry giving dog lovers even more breeds to choose from,” AKC Spokesperson Lisa Peterson said in a statement. “Both breeds are very athletic and will make great companions for those who love to stay active.”

The Chinook is a rare breed of sled dog most commonly owned in New England. It’s the official state dog of New Hampshire, and is known to have an even, pleasant disposition around loved ones, especially children. Chinooks have a tawny coat and generally weigh around 70 pounds. According to its official website, the breed owes its existence to Arthur Treadwell Walden of New Hampshire and his half-husky and half-Mastiff named Chinook. That dog, born in 1917, is the breed’s principal ancestor. Walden was an experienced dog driver who was the lead driver and trainer on a 1929 Antarctic expedition and decided to continue breeding Chinook’s pedigree.

The Portuguese Podengo Pequeno is the smallest of three sizes of the Portuguese Podengo breed. The dogs have either smooth or wire-haired coats, upright ears and an independent streak. Though new to the AKC, the Podengo breed has a history that goes back to their arrival on the Iberian Peninsula with the Phoenicians from Asia Minor, more than 2,000 years ago. Podengo Pequenos traveled with Christopher Columbus, Vasco da Gama, Magellan and others, eating shipboard rodents to protect food and sailors from vermin-borne disease.

The Lagotto Romagnolo and Berger Picard also joined the AKC this year, both as part of the Miscellaneous Class. The AKC requires a certain number of dogs geographically distributed throughout the U.S. and an established breed club of responsible owners and breeders for a breed to become AKC-recognized. After these new additions, the AKC boasts 177 breeds.

The AKC are the BIGGEST hyprocrites out there! They support puppy mills to get the revenew from "registering" these "pure-breeds"! They make me SICK! As someone who has adopted AND fosters puppymill survivors it sickens me that the AKC fights AGAINST stopping puppymills and backyard breeders! Money talks and A*&holes walk! This enrages me! They are no better than the slime that own and run puppymills and torture these beautiful creatures!!!!!!!!!! There are special places for them all in hell!!!!!!!!!

If I hear one more breeder say, "Oh, but my puppies ALL go to good homes," I am going to lose my s**t completely. All the breeders (and I know people who still breed and show and defend their "hobby") are in denial that they are a large part of the problem, when it comes to overcrowded animal shelters and millions of dogs euthanized each year.

The purebred dogs found in shelters and via breed rescue groups DO NOT all come from backyard breeders or puppy mills. All of the dogs found in shelters are NOT mutts. I challenge the breeders to visit shelter after shelter in their area and see the truth of things. The AKC is an "old boy" network which obstructs any legislation it feels will do damage to its coffers. The AKC doesn't care about dogs at all. Spay and neuter, people. Spay and neuter.

I found pj77's comment especially educational, as I once had wealthy hobby breeders next door to me, who bred their Rhodesian ridgeback female until she could no longer walk. I used to hear her cries of pain and see her incarcerated in their back yard, dragging herself around through her own feces. I called the local Humane Society, which did nothing. Why? Because the owners could prove she had "veterinary care!" At least my complaints resulted in this abused dog getting out for walks once in a while. The owners (such hypocrites) would walk her using a set of wheels attached to her back legs. I am sure they soaked up the sympathy, as they strolled around the neighborhood. What a travesty. And what of the puppies they sold and sold and sold?

Rescue, adopt and don't ever pay a breeder or shop owner $300 to $2,000 for a puppy. Breed specific rescue is the way to go, if you just have to have that certain breed.

As a fairly new Chinook owner I can tell you that whether or not the AKC cares about the breed, that Chinook breeders do, before we got our Chinook "Lily" we had fill out an application with references and we had to sign a contract that is designed to protect the dog, we also agreed to breed her but before that can happen she will have health screenings at 1 years old and again at 2 years old as long as she passes the screenings she can be bred, I have had many dogs in my life time it is always hard to tell the temperament of a dog from brief meeting but i have spent a lot of time with many Chinooks over the past 5 years and found that most are gentle and loving

The AKC is doing what any normal business (with no actual care for their product) do. Now two more breeds will be bred beyond recognition just so that some old person can decide which prancing dog suits his fancy for the day. They say they spend money on canine health research, but most of the canine health issues are because of their own inbreeding program. And yet they have the gall to file a brief for a case that they have absolutely no involvement in to state that dogs not registered with them (mutts, simple home companion dogs) have no value. The AKC is a farce that does not actually do anything to make the lives of dogs better.

We have owned Boston Terriers for 31 years. A total of 8 dogs. We did not breed for money. Our first pair had 2 pups. We kept them. The female of that pair had 6 pups. We kept 2, gave my son and wife one, and gave the other 3 to wonderful homes. We still see those 3 as we live in a town of about 500 people. After each female had their puppies, they were spayed. Our last two, a brother and sister, were "fixed" when they were about 4 months old. Puppy mills should be illegal in every state.

@syzygysb@DeborahSusanEdwards In case you have dyslexia, I will repeat to you again, in hopes that you understand: WE ARE NOT BACK YARD BREEDERS, AND HAVE NEVER BEEN. NONE, I REPEAT, N O N E OF OUR BOSTONS WERE AKC. NONE, ZERO, ZILCH, NADA. Backyard breeders SELL their puppies. We did not, I REPEAT, DID NOT sell those puppies. What part of the word NONE do you NOT understand?????

@DeborahSusanEdwards Puppy mills should be illegal, as should BACKYARD BREEDERS. What's wrong with you, breeding dogs when there are so many that already need homes? Do you think Boston Terriers are some rare breed that NEED to be populated? Check petfinder.com and you'll see plenty that need homes. STOP BREEDING. Just. Stop.

@razmataz2@DeborahSusanEdwards As I stated in my above comment, I am NOT a backyard breeder, so get off your high horse and don't call us one. We got our first 2 Bostons in the very early 1980's shelter. Our male was put there because he was not perfect, he had a "hunch back". WE DID NOT SELL 4 OF THOSE PUPPIES, NOT ONE RED CENT went in our pockets. We kept a male and female and they were neutered and spayed as soon as our vet said they could. And it cost us $750. for them to be born. We HAVE NOT had ANY puppies since 2002. Those we have ARE SPAYED AND NEUTERED. For over 30 years, we have put 6 Bostons over the Rainbow Bridge, we sat in the vet's office and held them and cried as each one passed. Our Bostons are our family. Your accusations are stupid. Go pitch it to someone else.

Groups like the AKC also perpetuate the inbreeding of dogs to produce "better breed types". Some King Charles Spaniels have brains too big for their heads called Syringomyelia , resulting in excruciating pain and death for the dog. More than half have this disease. Rhodesian Ridgebacks are born with spinal holes to preserve the ridgeback markings. This is basically Degenerative myelopathy which progresses until the dog can no longer stand. There are too many breeds to mention., Of course, at risk animals are bred and sold before this is "discovered". We are breeding dogs to extinction in the pursuit of some loosely defined perfection. Please google and educate yourself to stop this practice.

Actually AnimalLuvR is much closer to the truth than Lea. Since the AKC does NOT require DNA testing, all it takes to register a litter is the AKC numbers of any two registered dogs to list as the parents. Every AKC registered pup found in pet stores can be traced back to a puppy mill. If the AKC would limit the number of pups allowed to be registered by breeders, fewer dogs would be killed in shelters. Approximately 25% of dogs in shelters are purebreds. The AKC should require DNA testing to verify parentage and require all breeding stock to be free from genetic defects. Every 'mutt' that dies in a shelter or is taken in by a rescue group was obviously produced by purebreds at some point in time.

Buying an AKC registered dog does NOT mean that the dog meets any standards. The papers only attempt to prove parentage. The AKC is a joke. Even if a dog is registered, in order to show some breeds the owner is required to crop ears and dock tails. Mutilate a dog for a $1 ribbon? No thanks.

@AnimalLuvR no...you cannot register your dog with the AKC for a hefty fee, and simply submitting paperwork stating your puppy is a purebred. the smaller, not well known registries you can though. you should probably get your facts straight before you ramble on about things you have no idea about. yes there are lots of animals killed in shelters....a lot of them are muts, bred by people who have no idea how to breed. they are the ones you should go after, and stop from letting their dog breed with the neighbors out of being lazy, and not paying attention to their dog. they raise the puppies that are given away free in the paper, with no registration papers, no shots, no deworming, no special foods for the mommas, nothing.... they are the problem. people who take the time to register their puppies, make sure they have all the shots, have done all the genetic testing on the parents, regularly deworm their dogs, and give the mommas special attention...those are the people you're bashing. and you're just making yourself look stupid.

The AKC makes more than 80% of its money from puppy mills dogs. Did you know you can have your puppy registered if you submit paperwork stating the parents are both the same breed (along with a hefty application fee, of course)? Yep, that's all it takes to have a "pure bred" (no more a meaningful term than "pure bred' Caucasians"). The AKC opposes almost all anti-puppy mill legislation. Gee, I wonder why? When are people going to wake up and realize the AKC is horribly corrupt and inhumane?? I expect my comment will soon disappear due to the organization's political influence. But if you see this first, please do your research. And tell a friend! Instead of buying the b.s., adopt a dog from a shelter. Almost any breed is available (if not, they are available from a rescue group). Why not save one of the 3-4 MILLION DOGS AND CATS KILLED EVERY YEAR IN ANIMALS SHELTERS simply for being homeless?!!

@AnimalLuvR You cannot register your dog, if the parents were not registered, even if the dog is purebred. What you can do is get an ILP (Infinite Listing Privilege) that allows you to compete with your dog in obedience, or other competitions, other than Conformation.

And while I deplore puppy mills, a study done years ago showed that the majority of purebred dogs, from those which they were able to obtain background information, did not come from reputable breeders or pet shops. They came from back yard breeders. These are the people who have a pet female and breed it to any male, without any health clearances, and raise a litter of puppies. I am also seeing a disturbing number of people who are intentionally breeding crosses, such as labradoodle or puggle, again without any regard to the health of the parents and are often telling the buyers that these dogs can be registered and shown with AKC.